


Heavily Embroidered

by voguenexxus



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Cinderella AU, M/M, Rating May Change, semi-romantic character rescues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-09 16:14:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13485159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voguenexxus/pseuds/voguenexxus
Summary: A different sort of Cinderella story, where Cinderella goes to the ball and ends up rescuing the Prince instead of the other way around.Staring Prince Nathaniel and Andrew-ella.Also featuring Aaron and Nicky as the Ugly Step-Cousins (reformed) and with a special guest appearance by the Fairy God Roland.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talk to me on tumblr at voguenexxus.tumblr.com

“You’re sure these will work Roland?” Andrew drew his fingers over the embellished top of the invitations. The gold leaf certainly looked real, though, he’d never seen an actual palace invitation so he couldn’t really know how this forgery compared. He’d be working on faith for this job, something he usually avoided at all costs. He let out an irritated ‘tsk’ and mentally increased Kevin’s percentage from 54 to 55. 

“Please” Roland scoffed “my guy does the best work in the kingdom and you know it. If anything in this idiotic plan of yours is going to go wrong it won’t be those invitations.“ Roland’s eyes skimmed over Andrew’s tattered clothing as he slid the papers into his vest. "Personally I’m more worried about what you’ll be wearing.” 

Andrew drained the rest of his drink and got up from his seat at the bar to leave before grumbling back a quiet “I’m handling it.”

‘Handling it’ was not something he was looking forward to. It should be easy enough; Nicky had told him what clothes to look for and where to find them, but that did nothing to change the fact that Luther’s estate was one of the last places on Earth he wanted to go back to. But he’d already delayed this part of the plan as long as he could. The ball was tomorrow night and Roland was right, he’d never get anywhere near the palace in any of the clothes he owned now. Reluctantly he turned to leave the bar.

“Hang on a second, I’ve got something else for ya,” Roland called. Andrew halted and watched as Roland pulled a small bag from behind the bar. He tossed it casually to Andrew. “Those still are by no means proper ball attire, but I figure it’s better than you trying to hide those ratty leather ones under all your fancy clothes.”

Curious, Andrew reached into the sack and pulled out two black arm bracers. They were thick fabric, unlike his well worn leather ones, and decorated with silver embroidery. They looked fancy and delicate enough to wear to a ball, rather than looking like armor. They still had the hidden knife sheaths on the inside though. 

“Thought if you’re going to insist on sneaking knives into the King’s party, you should at least be elegant about it,” Roland stated. 

That hadn’t been Andrew’s plan actually. He’d been internally agonizing about leaving the bracers behind for the night, but hadn’t thought there’d be any way to bring them without risking too much suspicion. These bracers looked like a fashion statement. A weird fashion statement, but still, not weapons. The guards probably wouldn’t blink twice at them.    

Andrew shoved them back into their sack. He almost felt like he should thank Roland or something. Instead he turned and left the bar and started heading in the direction of Luther’s estate. 

He’d told the others this part of the plan had to come last in case someone noticed the theft and alerted the authorities. That was part of it. The other, larger part however was that he despised the idea of breaking his promise to never return. It’d been almost a year since he’d left with Aaron and Nicky in tow. Nicky had wanted to come back with him but Andrew had refused. The idiot would probably do something stupid like trying to talk to his parents. 

He made his way down the winding road that led to the estate and stopped when it came into view. The massive house looked just as impeccable and falsely cheerful as ever, apart from one exception. A construction site denoted the remodeling being done to repair the fire damage on the east wing. It seemed like the workers were gone for the day, luckily. Andrew thought the repairs looked nearly completed. He considered burning the building down again on his way out but dismissed that idea with a sigh. 

The actual robbery went off without a hitch. He knew his way around the manor and Nicky’s directions were surprisingly accurate. He managed to grab two each of Nicky and Aaron’s more formal outfits and a satchel to store them in and make it back out unnoticed. He’d specifically timed this break in for when Luther would be out; if some stolen clothes risked drawing too much attention, a murdered Lord would definitely be pushing it. It was only on his way back home that he ran into trouble.

He’d almost reached the edge of town when he heard the unmistakable pounding of hooves. He glanced up and saw what looked to be an entire army of soldiers headed down the road straight towards him. They were close but probably still too far away to have noticed him yet, half hidden in the shadows. His brain jumped straight to the stolen bag on his shoulder and the forged invitations which suddenly felt like they were burning against his chest and he scrambled further into the trees. He vaulted over a fallen log and hunched down, pressing tightly against the side. As soon as he was sure he was hidden he realized how irrational he was being. No one knew what he was planning to do and even if his Aunt and Uncle had somehow realized he had broken in, there’s no way they could have called anyone that quickly. Or gotten such a large response for that matter. Plus these were clearly soldiers, not the idiot village guards his uncle would call. What were royal soldiers doing all the way out in the woods like this? 

"Um hi.” 

The quiet, unexpected voice made Andrew flinch. He wheeled around and punched the speaker in the stomach. He willed himself to calm down while the stranger gasped for air. The stranger was maybe a little younger than him with auburn hair and clothes even more ragged than his. 

“What the fuck?” He wheezed. 

“You shouldn’t sneak up on people” Andrew replied calmly. 

“I was here first! You jumped into my hiding spot!” The other boy seemed to finally have caught his breath and now he looked pissed. Andrew just stared back cooly and didn’t reply. The stranger glared back at him for a few more seconds and Andrew found himself noticing how blue his eyes were. He looked away abruptly and peered back over the log to see where the soldiers were. 

They’d stopped about 30 yards back at the fork in the road by the forest’s entrance. A harsh looking woman on horseback was barking orders at the rest of them, dividing the group up to search both paths. Only now did Andrew realize the colors on their banners were wrong. What could foreign soldiers be looking for in this shithole village?

“Do you think they saw you?” The stranger whispered drawing Andrews attention back to him. He looked anxious and he was ducking so far into the tree he was almost tangled in the roots. 

“Why are they looking for you?” Andrew asked instead of answering his question. It seemed unlikely that this scraggly boy could have anything royal guards would want but clearly he was hiding from them. That meant he, at least, believed they were after him. 

“Me!? Maybe it’s you they’re after!” The stranger whisper-sniped back. “Why are you hiding from them?” They were never going to get anywhere like this. 

“I’ll trade you a truth for a truth,” Andrew replied quietly. The soldiers had started moving again. Half the group had gone down the other path while the woman lead the rest toward them. They’d left one man to keep watch back at the forest entrance. The search party was moving fast. Andrew held his breath as the soldiers got closer. They galloped straight past the log and kept going, racing further down the road. They must not have realized the stranger had stopped running but it wouldn’t take them long to figure out their mistake and turn around. Andrew stared at the boy’s back as he watched them go, shoulders tense. 

“I’m Andrew,” he said. He wasn’t sure why but he wanted to know this kid’s story. He was the most interesting thing that’d happened to Andrew since Kevin, and Kevin was starting to get tiresome. 

The stranger looked back at him distrustfully. “Neil,” he introduced himself. “What do you mean truth for a truth?”

“I mean I’ll answer your question and I’ll even tell you the truth, if you do the same,” Andrew said.

“No thanks.” Neil replied. 

Andrew frowned. If this kid wasn’t going to tell him what was going on then there really wasn’t a reason to stay. The rest of the guards could be back any minute and even though they weren’t looking for him he had a feeling he still wouldn’t want to get caught by them, hiding behind a tree with a possible fugitive. He looked back and noticed Neil glaring at the single guard standing at the forest entrance and came up with a new plan. 

“What about this,” Neil twitched clearly listening but didn’t take his eyes off the guard. Andrew thought he was probably trying to judge the best way to sneak past him. “Tell me why they’re after you and I’ll go distract that guard.” 

Neil spun back around to face him so fast he almost lost his balance. 

“Why would you help me?” Neil asked. His entire body tense and ready to run. 

“Because you seem like an interesting person Neil.” Andrew replied honestly.

Neil regarded him suspiciously for a few more seconds, then glanced back at the guard and finally sighed.

“Fine,” he said. “They’re after me because I took something that belonged to the King.” 

Andrew waited for him to continue but it looked like Neil was done talking. 

“Why the foreign soldiers?” He asked. 

“It was a foreign King.” Neil replied. “I’m not really from around here.”

“And they chased you all this way?” Andrew wasn’t sure he believed this story. Neil looked like a dirty street kid, he wasn’t sure how he could’ve gotten anywhere near something valuable to a king, let alone stolen it. The only part Andrew really believed was the actual pain it seemed to be causing Neil to tell him this. 

“They were coming here anyway for the accords” Neil said. “I was traveling with them but I ran away on the road.” 

Andrew continued regarding him casually for a moment then asked “So what’d you take?” 

“This is more than one question!” Neil snapped. 

“Hmm, I suppose you’re right,” Andrew replied pleasantly. “I guess I better go distract that guard now, wouldn’t want that foreign King to catch you now would we? Thank you for the honesty if that is what it was, though I doubt it.”

He started to stand but Neil caught hold of his wrist. 

“You still haven’t told me why you were hiding from them.” 

Andrew, not very gently, pried Neil’s fingers off of him and said “Nope. As I recall you passed on that deal remember.”

“That’s not fair” Neil practically pouted. 

“It’s perfectly fair.” Andrew replied. “Or would you rather hear that story instead while we wait for those soldiers to come back?” 

Neil glared at him and finally shook his head no. 

“Alright good then get ready to run,” he said.  

“Wait-” Neil reached towards him again but stopped short of grabbing him. “um. Thanks I guess.” He mumbled. 

Andrew vaulted back over the log and gave Neil a mock salute as he retreated. He crept as stealthily as he could towards the guard, moving from tree to tree as cover. Once he got close enough he stopped and pulled a shirt from his bag and tied it around the lower half of his face. It really wouldn’t do to have the soldier looking for him after this. 

He crept the last few feet to the guard then stepped out from behind the tree with a cry of “Hey!” and punched the man in the nose. Directness had always been his preferred method. He wondered idly if Neil had been expecting a more elegant distraction. 

The soldier stumbled back a step after being punched, but once he recovered slightly from his shock, he tried taking a slow swing at Andrew. Andrew ducked his arm and kicked him, sending him staggering forward. He used the man’s unbalance to tackle him to the ground and started hitting his face repeatedly. It was really all he could reach with the rest of the man covered by armor. 

The soldier tried to grab him but Andrew knocked his arms away and with one last punch knocked the man unconscious.

He finally sat up and looked around. The forest was still quiet, no sign of Neil or the other soldiers. He hoped Neil had already run for it. 

He got up and carefully dusted himself off, and tucked the shirt back into the bag. It was wrinkled now which would upset Nicky but he couldn’t honestly say he cared. He shook out his stinging hand and winced. Hopefully it would be too dark by the time the ball started for anyone to notice his bruised knuckles. 

Andrew made his way around the outskirts of the village to another entry road; best not to been seen coming from the same direction where a soldier was likely about to be discovered beaten unconscious. He re-entered the town a-ways down, close to Roland’s tavern and set off toward the road which would lead him home. 

Just as he was exiting the village on the other side of town from where he’d started he heard horses and soldiers calling out to each other. He looked back to see the blue clad troops leading a search through the town. The blonde woman was back at the front looking even harsher than before. Andrew hoped Neil was smart enough to not still be in town. 

His thoughts drifted to Neil for most of the walk home. Neil’s story sounded blatantly false; what could a scrawny street rat have possibly stolen from a King? But to his irritation, Andrew couldn’t come up with a better reason why an entire platoon of soldiers would have pursued the kid into another country. Neil had said he’d been traveling with the foreigners to the peace accords, so maybe he’d been some kind of servant? He continued pondering the puzzle of Neil until, with some annoyance, he realized he’d spent the last 5 minutes thinking about how blue Neil’s eyes were. He forced himself to divert his thoughts back to the plan. 

Sneaking into the ball wouldn’t be too hard, hopefully. Thousands of people had been invited so getting past security without raising any alarms should be easy, as long as Roland’s fake invitations held up. The problem was what they were going to do once they got inside the castle. How were they going to get to the king? 

Andrew cut off the path and made his way through the trees until a familiar shack came into view. Whatever they were going to do they’d have to figure it out tomorrow. The plan was as solid as it was going to get. Andrew pushed open the thin wooden door and was immediately greeted by Nicky’s shrieking.

“Oh Andrew thank god! I thought maybe they’d caught you. What took you so long?” 

Nicky made an attempt to fuss over Andrews face which Andrew neatly side stepped. 

“There was an  _ altercation _ on the road but it’s fine, I handled it.” Andrew replied. He tossed Nicky the satchel of clothing. “Those got wrinkled. Fix it.”

The distraction worked and Nicky immediately set off yammering about “Andrew you only grabbed these like half an hour ago! What did you tie them in a ball and kick them all the way home?” 

Andrew ignored him but Nicky wasn’t expecting a response anyway and had already wandered off to fuss over the clothes elsewhere. He looked around the room for the cottages’ other occupants. Aaron was reading a book by the room’s window and studiously ignoring Andrew’s entrance. Andrew’s gaze slipped past him as he found the person he was looking for. Kevin was sat at the small table in the kitchen. He looked calm but as Andrew stepped closer he caught the scent of alcohol that rolled off him. 

“I hope you weren’t stupid enough to get any guards involved in your ‘altercation.’” Kevin grumbled irritably. Andrew only stared back at him coolly. Kevin should know Andrew wouldn’t do anything that would compromise their plan. He was only going to all this trouble because of the deal he’d made Kevin. Andrew didn’t break promises. Kevin sighed and his annoyed expression resettled into something more insecure. Quietly he asked; “did you get them?”

Andrew reached into his vest pocket. He slapped the invitations down on the table in front of Kevin so the curly font was glaring at him; ‘You are cordially invited to attend the Royal Peace Summit Ball hosted by King David of the royal house Wymack on the 14th day of April, year…’

“Hope you’re ready for the family reunion, your highness.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! This fic also guest starring Kevin Day as Kev-punzel~


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Exy is now a tournament sport, which is probably more medieval than the rest of my vaguely whenever, Cinderella, time period, but oh well. It's not going to be super important in this fic, but I needed it for my dumb backstory and the characters are familiar with the sport. I imagine it kind of like a one on one sword fight but with a target you can attack on either side to score points. If anyone has questions about the setting of this story or anything, feel free to ask. I'd love to hear people's thoughts!  
> I'm on Tumblr as Voguenexxus

_ Once upon a time there was a young prince named David who ruled a small, fairly unimportant country called Palmetto. Though Palmetto was a peaceful kingdom, David was a skilled warrior and enjoyed competing in tournaments. One day he heard word of a new tournament sport which was gaining popularity in the neighboring kingdom of Day. Deciding he must try this new sport David traveled to Day and entered the very next tournament. The new sport was called Exy and the other knights informed David that the reigning champion was the mysterious White Knight. No one knew the true identity of White Knight but they said that he’d never been defeated. Some even believed the White Knight wasn’t human. David laughed at the fear in the other Knights’ eyes and vowed he would best the White Knight.  _

_ Though he’d never tried Exy before, David quickly fell in love with the sport and rose through the ranks of the tournament. Soon he found himself facing the White Knight in the final round.  _

_ The competition was fierce and David lasted longer in the ring than any other who’d faced the champion before, but the White Knight played with such skill as to be on a different level entirely. In the end David was outmatched and the White Knight retained the title of champion, but as the knight turned to leave the ring, David dropped to his knees. He proclaimed that the White Knight was a man more skilled than any other and begged him to train David in the sport. The White Knight turned around and removed his helmet and, much to the astonishment of the crowd, revealed himself to be not a him, but in fact to be a woman! And just any woman, but Queen Kayleigh of Day. She turned her harsh gaze on David and asked if he’d still wish to be trained by her now that he knew her true identity and furthermore, now that he knew that the sport of Exy had been invented by a woman. David immediately rephrased his appeal to include a proposal of marriage as well as his request for tutelage.  _

_ Kayleigh stood stock still for a moment before bursting into laughter. After taking a full two minutes to collect herself, she bluntly refused David’s marriage proposal, but did agree to teach him Exy.  _

_ David stayed in the kingdom of Day for a year while Kayleigh trained him in the sport. Marriage was proposed several more times but Kayleigh always turned him down. Finally he presented her with a challenge; they would face each other again in a tournament and if David won Kayleigh would finally agree to marry him but if he lost he would never ask for her hand in marriage again.  _

_ Kayleigh accepted his challenge and a date was set for the tournament. Thousands of people came from both kingdoms to cheer on their prince or queen. With much fanfare the event finally began. The two combatants fought with more speed and skill than had ever been seen before. The roar of the crowd was deafening as it seemed the two were almost equally matched. Ten minutes into the fight the score was still even and it seemed the match could last an eternity. But then in a move of ethereal grace and technical prowess, Kayleigh used a minuscule opening to sweep David off his feet and sweep the victory out from under him. With her sword leveled at his throat Kayleigh declared, “You’re a fool if you think you could ever defeat me with a stance like that David, but yes I will marry you. If only because I enjoy knocking you on your ass so much.” The cheers of crowd could be heard from two kingdoms over as Kayleigh pulled David to his feet and into a kiss.  _

_ The two were married a week later and the kingdoms of Day and Palmetto united. Eventually they had a son, Prince Kevin, who was adored throughout the lands. The two became great rulers and brought many years of peace and prosperity to their kingdoms. _

_ But unfortunately David and Kayleigh’s happily ever after was cut tragically short. Kayleigh and her son were on their way to the kingdom of Evermore to visit Kayleigh’s friend, Prince Tetsuji, when their caravan was ambushed on the road. The carriage was found overturned near Evermore’s border robbed of all the valuables it’d been carrying. Both David and Tetsuji scoured the area but none of the members of the traveling party were found, including the Queen and 8 year old Prince. They waited for a ransom demand but when none ever came many of the people started to believe the Queen and her heir were dead. Unrest rose in the kingdom.  _

_ The King was devastated but he still held out hope that one day his wife and son would be found and be returned to him. _

 

* * *

 

“Kevin do these stockings look fancy enough for this outfit?” Nicky asked. He did a little twirl to show the socks off for Kevin and almost slipped on the massive pile of discarded clothes on the floor around him. “I think the trousers cover most of the holes.”

“None of you will ever look civilized enough for a royal ball no matter what you’re wearing, so I guess it doesn’t matter,” Kevin grumbled. 

“Ugh, Nicky just wear the stuff Andrew got for us” Aaron griped. “We’re already late.”

The other three boys were lounging around the room fully dressed while Nicky steadily made his way through every article of clothing in the small cottage, including Andrew and Aaron’s. Kevin nearly beat him to death for suggesting he could make midriff-revealing-waistcoats “a thing.” Andrew felt supremely uncomfortable in the stiff clothing though he refused to show it. He traced the laces on the bracers Roland had given him and tuned out Nicky’s antics. 

They’d borrowed Eden’s Tavern’s delivery cart to make the trip to the castle. It wasn’t nearly an ornate enough carriage to arrive to a ball in, but it would get them there before the next morning. And more importantly, it’d get them out quicker than running if they needed it to. They’d hide the cart in the woods somewhere and walk the rest of the way to the castle. Then they just had to get past the guards and find the King, without running into any Moriyamas, and Andrew’s deal with Kevin would be over. Easy. Andrew’s fingers grazed the knife hilt tucked into the bracer.

Andrew had met Kevin a few months after they’d left the Hemmick estate. The cousins had gotten jobs at Eden’s Tavern. Kevin showed up on a moonless night just as Andrew was locking up, with his hand wrapped in a bloody cloth and begging for a room. Andrew told him 'sorry but they weren’t an inn’ and almost closed the door on him until Kevin shoved a bag of gold coins at him the size of his fist. Curiosity got the better of him and Andrew agreed to let him stay one night and then offered him a drink. Plying the story out of him was easy after that; Kevin didn’t seem to have thought far enough ahead to have a cover story and he was more than willing to drink himself into a truth-babbling stupor. 

Like everyone in the kingdom, Andrew had heard the king and queen’s ridiculously sappy love story and the story about the queen and prince’s mysterious disappearance hundreds of times. Kevin’s version though had some very interesting variations. In his telling the queen and the prince weren’t ambushed in the woods and they arrived at Castle Evermore as planned. They were only there a few hours though before the queen fell ill. She died a few days later. 

According to Kevin this was when the Moriyamas saw their opportunity. David and Kayleigh’s kingdoms were united by their marriage but without Kayleigh or Kevin, David’s claim to the larger kingdom of Day would be shaky at best. Legally he couldn’t rule the country, only hold it in trust until Kayleigh or Kevin returned. The more unstable the once powerful kingdom became, the easier it would be for the Moriyamas to conquer. The Moriyamas killed Kayleigh’s guards and locked Kevin in a prison tower. He stayed locked in the castle for 12 years before he escaped. Kevin’s best guess was the Moriyamas planned to install him as a puppet ruler after they took over the kingdom. Part of his deal with Kevin was for Andrew never to let that happen, no matter what he had to do to stop it.

Aaron hurled a shoe at Nicky and Andrew snapped back to the present. 

“Put your goddamn cravat back on and let’s fucking go Nicky!”

Interesting. Andrew would have to look into Aaron’s sudden desire to attend the ball later. For now it seemed the shoe throwing had succeeded in finally getting the group moving. Nicky grumbled and massaged the lump forming on his head as he followed a seething Aaron out the door. 

Andrew met Kevin’s eyes as he waited for him to move from his chair. Kevin took one last swig of the bottle he’d been nursing then stood up and left with Andrew.

 

* * *

Palmetto's castle was small, Andrew knew, in comparison to other kingdoms’, but it was still the grandest building Andrew had ever seen. It sat on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea. The lights from the windows illuminated the ornate facade even though night had already fallen. Lanterns lined the path leading to the entrance, each hung with the hideous orange banner that was their country’s flag. 

“Well there it is,” Aaron dead-panned to Kevin. “Home sweet home.”

To his credit Kevin only looked _ mildly  _ seasick, which was far better than Andrew had expected of him. He owed Aaron 5 coppers for Kevin not throwing up before they reached the gate. 

Kevin took a deep breath and put on his best royal bitch face before responding. 

“This isn’t home. Day is home. This is more like a summer resort.” But his knees still gave a slight wobble as he set off down the path. The cousins followed him to the door and the group stopped in front of the guards. Kevin presented their forged invitations with all the pomp and authority of someone who deserved to be there. Andrew’s fingers curled up to graze the hilt of his knife while the guard inspected the papers. Kevin’s gaze never faltered. After some of the most agonizing seconds of their lives the guard handed the invitations back to Kevin. 

“Welcome to the Peace Summit Ball, sirs,” He said and waved them through the doors. 

Kevin nodded at him and they made their way across the marble floor of the entrance hall as casually as possible. They crossed through another doorway into a longer hall which presumably led to the ballroom. Kevin instead lead them in the opposite direction, through an open doorway into a darker hallway, and around a corner. As soon as they were out of sight of the guards and the other guests he collapsed against the nearest wall. 

“I think the princess needs a minute,” Andrew said. He used his shoe to slide a large ornamental vase towards Kevin. 

“So now what?” Nicky asked nervously. “We're inside but how the hell do we get him to the king without the Moriyamas seeing him?”

The three of them turned to look at Kevin sitting on the ground, white-knuckled grip on the vase he’d tilted towards himself. He finally lost the battle with his stomach and vomited into it. Nicky held out his hand and Andrew and Aaron both reluctantly slipped him a few coins. 

“We can’t bring him into the ballroom, they’ll spot him right away,” Andrew finally answered. He already regretted what he was about to say next. “We should split up. The two of you head to the party. See if you can find a clear path to the king, or a way to lure him away from the Moriyamas. I’ll take Kevin and look for another way to seek him past their guards.” 

Aaron and Nicky looked dubiously at Andrew.

“Couldn’t we just walk in and announce like 'hey your majesty, here’s your son, we’ve found him for you,’ and shove Kevin in and run?” Nicky asked. “The Moriyamas couldn’t do anything about it in front of all those people.”

“We’re trying to  _ avoid _ a war dumbass,” Kevin spat from his spot on the floor. Apparently he’d recovered enough to resume being pissy. “The whole point of this idiocy is for me to warn my father about their plans  _ without _ them finding out, you prattling moron.”

“Wow okay. New plan; lets just turn him over to Riko and let him get murdered,” Nicky replied. 

Aaron gave both of them a supremely unimpressed look. 

“Ugh can you two babies quit whining so we can get on with this already.” He grabbed Nicky’s jacket and started dragging him away toward the ballroom. “We’ll meet you back here in an hour Andrew.”

Aaron and Nicky rounded the corner out of sight while Kevin slowly got back to his feet. Andrew wondered again why Aaron was being so eager to help, but decided to worry about it later. 

“Where would the king be during a ball?” he asked Kevin.  

“He’ll probably be on the second floor. On the balcony over the ballroom. That’s where all the foreign dignitaries will be, if they’re not dancing,” Kevin frowned. “But it’ll be heavily guarded, with his guards and the Moriyamas’.” 

Well it wasn't ideal but at least it was better than walking straight out into the middle of the dance floor. 

“Is there a back-staircase?” Andrew asked. Kevin silently led him further down the hallway, opposite of the direction that would take them back to the entrance hall. Andrew ghosted his hand over a silky tapestry as they passed. The maze of back hallways Kevin took them through wasn't as elegantly decorated as the entrance hall had been but it was still more extravagant than anything Andrew had seen before. Kevin’s personality made a little more sense thinking about him growing up in a place like this. 

The music from the ballroom drifted as they moved through the palace, getting quieter the further they got from the entrance hall. Andrew could still hear it faintly through the walls as they moved, and used the sound to track their position. They moved down the full length of the ballroom before they turned toward what must be the back wall, as best as Andrew could tell. They reached the end of another hall and Kevin came to a stop. Andrew looked at him inquisitively, and Kevin gestured for him to look around the corner. Andrew took a quick glance and then realized why they’d stopped. The hallway they were hidden in led out to a small corridor. The staircase they’d been looking for was on the opposite wall, but two guards stood at the base, and from the quick glimpse Andrew had gotten, he could tell they weren’t wearing King Wymack’s colors. However, they didn’t look like Moriyama’s guards either curiously. They wore deep blue, rather than the orange or black he would’ve expected to see. Regardless of whose men they were though, foreign guards didn’t bode well for the king. Or for Andrew and Kevin. 

Andrew stayed pressed against the wall while he contemplated their next move. He could feel Kevin’s eyes on him watching for his decision. Most directly, he could round the corner and attack the guards. He could probably take the two of them but that risked causing a commotion and getting them noticed. He was still trying to think of stealthier alternatives when both guards suddenly clanged loudly as they snapped to attention in the mostly quiet hall. The noise made Kevin jump and Andrew reacted by shoving him back against the wall, with a hand over his mouth.    

They stayed still, barely breathing, as the sound of footsteps descending the stairs became clear. Andrew released Kevin, who slid his own hand up to replace Andrew’s as he slumped against the wall. The footsteps reached the corridor and clacked against the marble floor as they headed toward the hallway where the two were concealed. Andrew tensed, ready to spring as the person got closer.

The individual rounded the corner and Andrew pounced. He locked his arms around the person’s shoulders and clamped a hand over their mouth. He pulled them deeper into the shadows, away from the light of the corridor. They were smaller than Andrew was expecting, only a little taller than himself. The person struggled against his grip and Andrew caught a glimpse of their face. Familiar ice blue eyes glared back at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have Courage, and Be Kind, and Comment on my Fanfiction


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A pipe dream is a wish your heart makes lol

Andrew spun Neil around and pinned him against the wall, hand still covering his mouth. Confusion momentarily tied his tongue. His brain couldn't reconcile the image of the scraggly thief he'd met in the woods with the person before him now. Neil looked entirely different. His tattered clothes were replaced with elegant party attire, even more regal than Andrew’s own. The midnight blue color made his pale skin look even fairer and brought out his already dangerously blue eyes even more. His grungy hair had been washed and styled into a perfect auburn wave.   

Neil had mostly stopped trying to fight his way out of Andrew’s hold but he was still breathing heavily against the hand keeping him quiet. Andrew met his gaze and saw a look of confusion in Neil’s eyes that likely mirrored his own. The two just stared at each other in shock for what felt like an eternity until Kevin let out a quiet gasp behind them. The noise jolted Andrew back to the present and he broke his stare off with Neil to glare at Kevin. Neil’s attention also snapped toward the source of the sound and his eyes widened even more when they landed on Kevin. Neil’s mouth moved under his hand in a murmur that felt dangerously close to Kevin’s name and suddenly Neil was off the wall and Andrew was pulling him back into a chokehold against his chest. Kevin made another startled sound and then he was dragging Neil down the hallway once again while he struggled against his grip. They couldn’t do this here, he couldn’t let these idiots draw the attention of the guards still right around the corner. He looked behind him and spotted a door only a few feet up the hallway and pulled Neil toward that, trusting Kevin to follow. Kevin finally caught on to the idea and hurried ahead of them to open the door so Andrew could drag Neil over the threshold. Once they were all inside Kevin closed the door.

Andrew was considering what question to ask first but Kevin beat him to it.

“Nathaniel?”

Neil flinched at the question but couldn’t answer with Andrew’s hand still clapped over his mouth.  

“What are you doing here?” Kevin continued. “Did your father send you?”

Neil squirmed slightly under Andrew’s tight grip but Andrew wasn’t about to let him go. Kevin had called him Nathaniel and apparently knew his father? What the hell was happening?

“Kevin what the fuck? Do you know him?” he demanded. He couldn’t really think where to even begin with his questions, but someone needed to start talking, and Neil/Nathaniel was a bit impaired at the moment.    

Kevin dragged his eyes away from Neil and met Andrews gaze. 

“He’s Nathaniel. Uh- I mean, Prince Nathaniel,” Kevin stuttered. “..of Baltimore.”

Whatever Andrew had been expecting, that wasn’t it. Prince? The thief he met hiding from soldiers behind a log was a Prince? His head was quickly filling up with more questions but he stayed stuck on that detail. Prince?

“But he’s not supposed to be here. At the accords I mean,” Kevin continued. “Baltimore’s King is ruthless. He’s never accepted an invitation to the peace summit before.” 

Andrew had vaguely heard of Baltimore. The country was far away and therefore didn’t usually bother Palmetto, but he knew they had a reputation for brutal and bloody wars. People called their king “The Butcher.” Their King who must be Neil’s father he realized with a start.

Neil squirmed again and made a frustrated grunt sound at Andrew’s ironclad grip. Andrew loosened the hand not held over Neil’s mouth and slid one of his knives up from it’s sheath. He pressed the knife against Neil’s throat. Neil flinched and some of the color drained from his face. He turned his head and whispered venomously into Neil’s ear. 

“If i take my hand away are you going to be quiet?” 

Neil nodded minutely. Andrew felt him swallow and take a deep breath to compose himself. Slowly Andrew lifted the hand away from Neil’s mouth. 

“Talk.” he said, with a slight press of the knife.

Neil wasted no time now that he’d been given permission to speak. 

“I don’t know what’s going on in that thick fucking skull of yours that made you think it was a good idea to come here Kevin, but you need to leave,” Neil said haughtily. Kevin shifted uncomfortably under Neil’s glare. Interesting, Andrew thought. Apparently having a knife to his throat wasn’t enough to completely deter Neil from being a mouthy asshole. 

“I can’t. I-” Kevin started before abandoning that train of thought. “The Moriyama’s are okay with you being here?”

“Clearly, since my father came here with them,” Neil said.

Kevin’s face instantly paled at that news. 

“What?” he asked in a horrified whisper. 

Andrew was growing tired of only vaguely understanding this conversation. Plus he had his own questions for “ _ Neil _ ”. He gave the boy a slight jab with the knife to get his attention.

“Why don’t we start from the beginning-, actually, you know what, why don’t we start with yesterday,” he suggested. “Guess you managed to get away from those soldiers, huh?”

Andrew could practically feel Neil rolling his eyes, even if he couldn’t quite see it. 

“Obviously not or I’d be far the fuck away from here,” he said.

“Soldiers yesterday?” Kevin asked dumbly. He looked from Neil to Andrew and met Andrew’s gaze. He stared at Andrew searchingly as though he could find the answers in Andrew’s scowl. Maybe he could because something finally clicked. “Wait, do you two know each other?”

“Oh yeah ‘ _ Neil’  _ and I go way back, don’t we Neil?”  Andrew tightened his grip on Neil’s shoulders, prompting him to respond.

“‘ Neil ’?” Kevin asked. 

Neil sighed. “We ran into each other on the road yesterday, sort of. I was hiding from some soldiers and he punched me in the stomach. I can’t even begin to figure out what you’re doing here together though.”

He tugged futilely at Andrew’s arm. 

“Are you just some kind of freak who goes out looking for fights with royal guards?”

“Hmm, maybe I am,” Andrew answered carefully. “And what does that make you? Some bored little prince who’s idea of a fun game is to dress up like a commoner and get chased by soldiers?”

“Ha, believe me, running from my father’s men is not what I’d call a good time,” Neil scoffed.               

“Oh your  _ father’s _ men. I see,” Andrew said. “A runaway prince. That’s adorable.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Neil hissed. He tried again to shake off Andrew’s grip. “Get off me!”

“You tried to run?” Kevin’s horrified tone distracted the two from their struggle. 

“I had to,” he said. “Things have changed since you escaped Kevin.” 

Neil sagged against Andrew.  “They’ll be looking for me soon, you have to let me go. Let me go and then run. I won’t tell them you were here.”

“What are you talking about? What’s changed?” Kevin asked. 

Neil fidgeted, seeming uncomfortable with the question.     

“Well with you on the loose the Moriyamas decided to speed up their timeline,” he said slowly. “Their deal with my father’s been... renegotiated.”

Andrew was starting to figure out where this was going and he did not like the answer one bit. Neil kept talking.

“He’s here to kill Wymack.”

 

Kevin stumbled back like he’d been struck. Andrew’s brain was suddenly working a million miles a minute. Fuck whatever plan they might have had, they needed to leave. Now. 

Andrew dug the knife tip harder into Neil’s chin. 

“When?” he demanded. He needed to know how much time they had to get out. Before this place turned into a war zone.  

Neil strained to get away from the point of the knife. “Not tonight. He’ll wait til the public address tomorrow and do it there, in front of everybody.”

Tomorrow. That gave Andrew a little bit of time. He could find Nicky and Aaron and get the hell out of the capital before then.

His thoughts of where to go after that were interrupted by the muffled sound of voices in the hall outside. He met Kevin’s panicked gaze with a glare, willing him to keep quiet.  

 

“...couldn’t have gotten far,” one of the voices said. “Even Wymack’s dumb guards know not to let him leave the castle.”

Andrew listened carefully to their approach. The sound of rattling armor reverberated with every step. Guards then. 

“Probably just snuck off with some girl for his last night of freedom,” another voice laughed. “Doubt he’d be stupid enough to try crossing Lola again.”

Neil went rigid and for a distressing moment Andrew thought he might call out and draw the guards to them. He didn’t though. Neil remained completely silent, barely breathing as the voices continued down the hall.   

None of them made a sound until the footsteps had faded completely down the hall. 

“I told you they’d look for me,” Neil hissed. “I’m kind of considered a flight risk right now.”

Andrew thought about what they’d overheard from the guards. He filed that conversation away to wonder about later. They had more pressing issues to worry about.

“Leave,” Neil said again, quietly. “Let me go back to them and I swear I’ll never say a fucking word about any of this. Just leave and get Kevin far away from here.”    

Neil, Nathaniel, thief, prince, it didn’t matter. Neil had probably told him a hundred lies since he’d met him yesterday, but for some reason, about this, Andrew believed him. 

He pulled the knife away and released his grip on Neil’s shoulders. Neil stepped away and turned around to face him. Their eyes met and a silent agreement passed between them. Andrew and Kevin would leave and Neil would tell no one about their invasion. Kevin could go back into hiding and live to face the Moriyamas some other day.  

The longer he looked at Neil’s hard blue gaze, the darker his mood became. Neil was a problem. And a liar. And Andrew didn’t want to leave him here. He still had a more dozen questions for the thief/prince and he knew once he left him he’d never get the answers. Neil was a puzzle he ached to solve, but Andrew had more important things to do.

He didn’t break his stare off with Neil. 

“Time to go Kevin,” he said. 

“Go?” Kevin asked slowly, finally blinking out of his daze. “What are you talking about? We, we have to warn him! We had an agreement!”

Andrew finally took his eyes off Neil to glare at Kevin.

“I never agreed to get between your dad and the fucking butcher of Baltimore,” he said harshly.

Kevin glowered back at him icily. 

“We made a deal.”

Andrew’s scowl darkened even further, but Kevin wasn’t backing down. Fuck Kevin, he thought with malice. Fuck Kevin and fuck himself for agreeing to that asinine deal. The words tasted bitter on his tongue as he spat them at Kevin. 

“Let’s go find Nicky and Aaron” he said angrily. The _“and finish this stupid_ _plan”_ went unsaid but he knew Kevin heard it anyway. 

Andrew didn’t break promises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it sounds horribly stupid to call a country "Baltimore" but I can't think of anything better to call Neil's dad's country. Any suggestions or thoughts on place names would be appreciated!
> 
> I'm on Tumblr as Voguenexxus
> 
> P.S. pls comment. It's almost Valentine's day. I need love


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